Living creatures as we all are shouldn't be killing unnecessarily.

Poor animals suffering and been tortured for a man to eat is beyond criminal and i dont know how can that be godly or pure!!. Is a universal principle nobody should follow. Do not kill!!. When u kill animals you are killing your selves. I believe there was an order of how things use to be a long time ago that was broken by something that came to this earth, but anyways people needs to question also. If we didn't have the tools to kill and eat this animal with then how would we eat them. Humans don't have fangs, claws, etc. so fruits and vegetables are the true kind of foods. Observe yourself.

Where do you draw the line? What makes humans so special?

As far as I can tell the only real objective thing which differentiates a human being from an animal is intelligence. Most of us humans are orders of magnitude more intelligent than even the smartest animals. If that is the only differentiating factor, then for us to say that eating meat is OK must mean it's OK to kill and eat anything which is not as intelligent as us. But how much less intelligent must something be for it to be OK to kill and eat it? I'm fairly intelligent. If IQ scores are to be trusted, I'm "smarter" than about 97% of the people on this planet. Does that mean that those 97% are fair game for my dinner plate and I for the 3%'s? I have some very good friends who, while not mentally disabled, are simply not very bright. However, they are smart enough (or is it I'm dumb enough?) that we can still relate and enjoy spending time together. I don't think it would be OK to kill and eat them. But what about the mentally disabled? If someone where so disabled that even your average bovine could outwit him, would it then be OK to kill and eat him? How about young children, they're not very intelligent? You could argue that most adult animals posses more intelligence than a baby human. Does that mean it's OK to kill and eat young children? I don't think that's OK either. This would mean that intelligence, which is the only differentiating feature we humans posses over animals, is not a good indicator of what's OK to kill and eat. If intelligence isn't then what is? I'd have to say sentience, although that's hard to define. If it's aware of itself, it's probably morally wrong to kill and eat it. That is, unless you have no other choice save starvation. But that's a whole different debate.

Wrong and unnecessary

I can understand why people used to eat animals. Finding food was harder, and vitamin supplements weren't around. But today, converting to a non meat diet is affordable for most Americans. Most of us today eat meat because it tastes good and we don't want to give it up. But honestly, do you really need meat that bad? You can get all vitamins and nutrients from other foods except for B12, but most non dairy milk is fortified with it, and vitamin supplements are around. There's usually no need to worry about protein deficiency because most Americans get too much protein anyway. Vegetarians are on average healthier and live longer than those that eat meat. I've been vegetarian for almost a year, and it's not as hard as it seems. I had been wanting to become one long before that, but thought it would be too hard and i would miss meat too much. But I don't even think about. I miss meat sometimes, but my life is fine without it. I hear a lot of people say, "But bacon is so good" or "I just can't live without meat." Honestly, you can live without meat. It's a lot healthier, too. The hardest part is finding enough options at restaurants. I have more respect for farmers that raise and butcher their own meat on small farms. At least the animals have a decent life before they die. Factory farms are despicable. The animals are cruelly killed, abused, and even sexually assaulted. Animals are sentient, intelligent beings. Pigs are smarter than three year old children. I challenge everyone on here to watch the documentary Earthlings. It has videos taken undercover at factory farms. I was balling my eyes out as I watched. It might change your mind about eating meat.

Eating Meat is NOT wrong, but Killing Animals IS.

Animals feel the same amount of pain as humans do. Any meat eater who thinks otherwise is either stupid or just wants to look the other way. Animals also feel & grieve (e.G. Elephants, dolphins, etc.) as much as humans do, for their own kind when they are hurt or killed...Don't even think of arguing this...Scientific evidence sustains. So if you want to kill animals, at least don't be a hypocrite.

Animals have Feelings and therefore are entitled to Basic Rights

Animals are sentient beings. They are not unfeeling objects and so should not be treated as products. The Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness in Non-Human Animals in July 2012 brought together the findings of top neuroscientists showing that animals are aware and conscious beings. This finally brought a formal statement from biological sciences to support our common sense observations. Therefore as with human beings, animals have the right under natural justice to life. It is not required for humans to interfere with natural processes in the wild such as predation which is ecologically sound, but it is certainlyrequired under natural justice for humans to finally learn to overcome species preference and accept both the philosophical and scientific implications of the properties of higher animal life. Therefore animals should be granted basic rights under law, rights that would radically alter our existing dairy and meat industries, our consumption patterns, hunting, fur and bile farming, and all the rest of it. Sanctions against taking animal life in this way would amount to murder. This isn't ridiculous - in ancient times, for example, in places as diverse as Egypt and Wales, the killing of cats was punishable by huge fines or even execution. Cows are still sacred to 500 million Hindus in India today. These examples of special cases need to be extended generally. Laws should ban meat consumption or heavily retrict it to compassionate farming and no animal should be eaten that has not died a natural death.

We are all earthlings.

Earthling: one who inhabits the Earth. Everyone have as much right to be here and be treated with respect as we humans do. I have seen how animals are slaughtered and how they are treated before the slaughtering with marking with fire in the face, horn cutting without anesthetics, transportation etc. There is nothing moral about this. It's unnecessary suffering and killing and it's wrong. If we can live peacefully, eating a plant-based diet without having to kill anyone, isn't that what we should (and should want to) do?

Meat is Murder

Meat is murder. As written by the Smiths, some may say this is an overstatement...But is it really? Families gather around a table to carve into a once living thing, while simply discussing how school was, or the latest news at work. Does it ever occur to any of them they are gathering around a dead soul while discussing such simple topics? What if there was a dead human on the family dining room table... Would the topic of their conversation change? I think so. Schools serve lunches to children mostly consuming of all meat product. First off has any school ever heard of vegetarianism? Schools I've been to have handed me an apple and expect me to be full at that. It's inconsiderate enough as they hand over a tray of dead sliced up creatures covered in a mystery sauce over to little children but it's even worse as most schools don't even bother to think about the people who don't eat meat. Some argue that animals are not intelligent and since they don't have the brain capacity we humans do, they are not worth saving. Also saying they don't speak which makes them quite useless. So if that statement was really true, is it morally correct to carve up a deaf or mute person? Their disorders make them incapable of speaking so they're alright to eat right? Of course not! Open your eyes to the fact that meat is murder no matter how you view animals. Being a vegetarian saves 100 lives a year. On average that's 8000 lives you would save in your lifetime... Think about it and please consider animals are equals... They have souls too and just because they can't speak for themselves doesn't mean we can't speak as a voice for them.

I was caused depression by this.

I imagined myself being born an animal. Same feelings, same thoughts. Even without those thoughts, I still would have felt pain. I imagined a loved one in the real world killing me in this hypothetical one. It scares me to no end still. The only solution I see is to convince all my closest friends that eating meat is wrong.

In my opinion, Its wrong to eat an animal.

Well firstly, i dont see what is acceptable about eating a living things dead flesh- its not right, no matter HOW you put it. Alot of meat eaters will argue 'They dont feel it', but how is that a valid argument? If i go and murder someone and do it with pain killer, is that acceptable? No? So why should it be different for animals. Most people also seem horrified at the thought of eating another animal such as a dog or cat, but are fine at eating a cow, pig, sheep or fish-why are they any different? They both feel, think, breathe, walk the same. No matter how its put and what arguments you give, eating meat isnt right. We can get protein, iron ect from different sources that dont include something having to be risen and murdered. Im not going to disagree, meat tastes great...But its not right. There isnt any way you can make paying someone else to kill an animal, freeze it and then for you to cook and eat it, right. Theyre living things at the end of the day.

It's wrong to kill unnecessarily, therefore it's wrong to eat meat.

Humans don't need meat or animal products to survive. Millions of healthy vegans and vegetarians the world over are proof of this. It is stated by most world and government health organisations that's it's possible to live perfectly healthily on a plant-based diet.

Therefore, it is safe to say that eating meat or animal produce is unnecessary. If it's unnecessary, why do we do it? Tradition, culture, habit, & taste. None of these are good reasons to cause suffering of and to kill billions of animals every year. None of these are good reasons to take up resources that leave some people starving whilst at the same time damaging the soil.

If it is not necessary to our survival, we should not kill other beings who feel fear, who can suffer, & who want to live just as much as we do.

No, far from it

Eating meat is far om morally wrong. Meat provides iron which your body needs, sure you can take iron replacements but not only is this a hassle I would feel less comfortable taking something man made than something natural. Humans have teeth that allows them to "rip" pieces of meat as opposed to just chewing on plants, so we have evolved into omnivores making meat eating not only natural but also moral.

Meat is a natural part of thee human diet.

Although yes, it is kinda hard to watch an animal being slaughtered it doesn't mean meat is unholy. People who want to defend being vegan say it's the devil's work (or something crazy like that). Are digestive tracks are clearly made for eating meat and plants and ever since the stone age we have been eating meat.

The simple act of eating meat is natural, healthy and in no way immoral.

Can the treatment of animals in food production be immoral, unnatural and unhealthy? Certainly, and sadly it often is, nowadays. That's a bad thing, no question, and something we should all work together putting an end to. As for the whole "Is it wrong?"-question, I say let people eat meat if it comes from healthy animals raised in a natural environment who are then killed quickly, efficiently and competently without any malice, sport or cruelty. Hell, a quick and simple death is more than most people get. Modern meat production (and indeed much of food production in general) is often a horror show, but that doesn't make meat-eating itself immoral. Conditions for labourers picking bananas in South America are atrocious, but eating bananas isn't immoral. If you don't like how animals are treated in the big business slaughterhouses, don't buy your meat from those guys. Those guys are greedy and immoral, the business is greed-based and immoral. Eating meat is simply being an animal, like so many others that we share this planet with. If you can accept where meat comes from and are willing to pay more for/work harder for/think more about the meat on your plate, then you should be allowed to eat meat.Oh, and no one has a soul. Souls are make-believe. Some animals like humans have fairly evolved consciousnesses, and some don't. Let's leave it at that. Don't mix valid scientific arguments or moral objections with spirit-based mumbo-jumbo!

Eating meat in itself is not morally wrong

Unless you believe it is for yourself. That doesn't mean it's wrong for others. Morality can only be objectively defined for oneself. To say that the lives of animals are equal to or greater than the lives of humans is a completely subjective matter of opinion. The value that one assigns to one's own life or the lives of others is again completely subjective. As we see in a capitalist system some people are willing to pay more for somethings than others are. If an apple is worth the same to you as an orange that's fine but if someone else is willing to trade 2 apples for an orange who are you to say they are wrong? How far we are obligated to go in order to prevent the death or suffering of others or ourselves is again completely subjective. I don't think nature spends very much time concerning itself with these matters so why should we? Are we somehow superior to nature?

Animals are not people

Animals are NOT people. Animals are animals. Plus, if you think certain animals should be protected since they are cute your reasoning is off. You have a problem killing rats if they are in your house? You have a problem spraying a wasps nest? Same thing. If you take the whole "animals have soul" stance then you need to take it to the logical conclusion, and not when it is just convenient for you.

The vegetarian diet requires modern industry paradigms.

It is Nobel that someone gives up meat to stand for moral codes, however the vegetarian and more so vegan diet requires that humans seek multiple food sources. I was born in an area of the world that was often cut off from supply's and even given clear path money and availability of food from the outside world was limited. If I or my family decided to be vegetarian we would have died. People in the west have the luxury of having a diet that can be only of vegetables and fruit. The rest of the world does not. The problems with meat eaters today is a) steak is standard, meat is wasted and instead of eating local meat (I now live in Western Australia so I eat roo), on large scale somehow farming cattle destroying the environment is considered "natural" , and eaten every meal. You need meat twice a week and try fish I hear it's awesome. Cut your meat consumption way down. Too much protein from animals equals 25% greater expectancy of cancer and; B) we have no respect for animals. I have had to kill, I was taught how to kill fast and humanly and that animals do have lives . I worked on a egg farm when I was a kid. The conditions were terrible. Deformed chickens squished into cages and suspended above poo in large mountains and then when you tell someone this they just don't care. I am a part of nature and I don't fight that but I also don't give some bull that me buying beef artificially breed in an environment it did not come from which I did not kill thus respecting the life that has been taken means I am just being natural. We all me included are so distant from what is natural. We all are brought our food and we are spoilt beyond nature intended.

No, eating meat is NOT morally wrong

Of course eating meat isn't morally wrong. It has been said that humans come first, and meat is there to be eaten. Some people need to eat meat for the protein, otherwise we'd have to get our protein from taking more pills. Animals eat other animals, It's just a part of life.

Depends on your worldview- mine says no

The real question here is whether or not humans and animals are equal. I don't think they are- Christianity states that the world was created for humans, and everything here is ours to use responsibly. Animals don't have souls, so to me having a steak for dinner is no different than cutting down a tree or swatting a mosquito. But if you're an atheist or evolutionist who believes that humans are just animals who have evolved to have more intelligence, I can see how you wouldn't feel right eating an animal.Still, I have a few questions for such people. For one, what about other omnivores or carnivores that have evolved to eat meat- are they morally wrong? Shouldn't we be re-educating lions and conditioning them to eat grass so that they can look at themselves in the mirror?But still, if all life is equal, isn't the cow just as reprehensible as the lion? Does the life of grass not carry as much weight as the life of a gazelle? Where do you draw the line?

It sounds ridiculous, but this is the logical conclusion we come to if we say that eating meat is wrong. The opposition relies only on ridiculously sentimental statements like "It's just wrong" or "they're living things". Yeah, they are living things, but that's how the world works. Sorry. It's just nature's way. And if you have a problem with it, whatever, don't eat meat. But until you create some alternate universe where we can all just live in peace and harmony and be pretty sunflowers and get our nutrients from air and osmosis, don't force your opinions on me or call me immoral for living in the parameters of nature.

I think its right to eat meat

Firstly, everyone has there own opinion and I respect that but still there are plenty more in the wild its not like they are extinct! I mean plants do not provide Vitamin B12 and we need this! Also meat is high in protein! So what I eat meat no one can stop me I love it

It's not, usually even in religious beliefs.

I'm personally a Christian and it says nothing in the Bible about meat being wrong to eat. I have a friend who said that eating meat was bad because your killing innocent animals but why are those animals there if it wasn't for the food chain? She also explained she didn't know where some meat comes from, like in what country and if chemicals were given to the animal, and that I do agree with. You must always do your research and look at labels before buying any kind of raw meat. In other religions, though I don't understand it, I understand they can't eat certain kinds of meat or any meat at all. It really depends on what you belief in, I think in my stand point, and what YOU think is right. There is no right or wrong.

Some people say that killing animals is ok because they don't have any rights and that god gave animals so that man can eat them, that it is man's (self given ) moral right to slaughter in large numbers. They even don't have any probelm with killing pregnant cattle and their new born bcoz of this so called moral right. If these people think such senseless killing is ok then they shouldn't have any problem with any other senseless killings as well...Like terrorists killing civillians...Criminals killing people....Soldiers killing people in name of false wars etc bcoz by their own logic the terrorist/criminal/soldier can say it was his ( self given ) moral right to kill people bcoz for him they didn't have any rights, for him they were like dumb animals. So it is hypocritical of such people to criticize senseless killing as immoral and then support it in a way by compromising on morals to save their daily steak at the cost of the animal's immense torture, pain , suffering. This is really pathetic